How I Bought a House at 22

Growing up we moved A LOT. I mean A LOT. I hadn’t even grown out of my “teen” years and I had moved 20 times. All I wanted in my adult life was a home of my own that I could stay in for as long as I saw fit. I wanted to buy a house! To buy a house meant more than to just become a homeowner to me, it was a lifelong dream. It was special. This is how I bought a house at 22!

I needed to figure out how to make my dream come true.

Already being a full time college student that was working two jobs meant I was working with a pretty tight budget to begin with so I started looking for ways I could save even more money. 

Cut the Extras.

1. No more eating out!

First thing to go was my terrible habit of eating out all the time. My daily Starbucks run, gone. Trips to Panera to snack and study, super gone. I figured out I was saving over $500 a month by just making my meals and iced coffee at home. I saved even more when I’d skip girls night out on the town too! Girls night in was MUCH cheaper.

2. Say Goodbye to unnecessary bills.

Cut the cable. I traded my $140 cable bill for a $12 Netflix subscription, got rid of my beauty box subscriptions and I cancelled my lawn maintenance plan. I was serious. Anything that wasn’t an absolute necessity was cancelled and I began to save like crazy.

3. Extra Income

Like I said earlier, I was already working two steady jobs AND going to school but I needed more if I wanted to buy a house not to mention having enough left over to cover those new home DIY projects. So I started selling off anything around the house that I no longer needed. I made a few hundred dollars… I got a roommate, that helped a bit. But I also started doing Direct Sales on my Saturday nights. You’ve heard of those “tupperware” or Avon parties. It was kind of like that.

I became a hermit. I worked nonstop. But in the end I was able to sign the papers! I bought a house!

There is so much more that goes into buying a house as a young adult but for me what it all really boiled down to is did I want it bad enough? Was I really ready to buckle down and take on the responsibility? You can do it if it’s what you really want to do! Just keep in mind that buying a house, even a “turn key” house comes with a lot of surprises! There will inevitably be new home DIY projects and there will always be the usual upkeep. Being a homeowner is hard work and without the help of my family and friends I wouldn’t have been able to do it. That’s right, 3 am cabinet painting parties are all part of the process! It’s hard but it’s the best!!! I hope this helps!